The House of Representatives held two big oversight hearings yesterday, one questioning Attorney General Eric Holder and the other questioning Democratic former-New Jersey senator and governor Jon Corzine. Other than the witnesses professed ignorance, little was learned.
In the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing, Holder was questioned about what he knew, and when he knew it, on the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms “Fast and Furious” gun smuggling investigations. Asked if he knew who approved the decision to let illegal gun sales go through untraced, Holder said, “I don’t know.” Asked if he knew how many illegal gun sales to Mexico his administration allowed, Holder said: “I don’t know how many guns from Fast And Furious are out there.”
The House Agriculture Committee wasn’t making much progress with President Obama fundraiser Corzine, either. Corzine resigned as CEO of MF Global after that company went bankrupt making highly leveraged bets on European sovereign debt. Since then it has also been revealed that as much as $1 billion of MF Global client money has also gone missing. Asked if he knew where his former clients money went, Corzine said, “I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date.”
Bloomberg‘s Jonathan Alter recently wrote that it was a “miracle” how “free of scandal” the Obama administration has been so far. It’s easy to remain scandal free if you just deny knowledge of everything your administration and fundraisers do. Doesn’t hurt to have the the liberal mainstream media watching your back, either.
Around the Bigs
The Washington Examiner, Fireworks as Issa compares Holder to Nixon’s AG: At yesterday’s House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Rep Darrell Issa, R-Calif., warned Attorney General Eric Holder that he could be held in contempt of Congress for his failure to cooperate with an investigation into the Fast and Furious program. Issa compared Holder’s stonewalling to President Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell, to which Holder responded, ”Have you no shame?” To which Issa retorted, “Have YOU no shame?”
The Washington Post, Senate rejects proposals to slash federal payroll taxes: The Senate, again, rejected separate Democrat and Republican plans to extend the current payroll tax rates yesterday. The Democrat plan received only 50 votes (60 were needed), while the Republican plan got 22.
The New York Times, House Republicans Unveil Plan for Payroll Tax: House Republicans released a plan Thursday that would extend the current payroll tax rates for another year, and pay for it by reforming entitlement programs and freezing federal worker pay. Republicans also attached a provision that would role back an EPA regulation on industrial boilers and transfer authority for making a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline to FERC.
The Wall Street Journal, Bid to Revise Treaty Fails to Win Full Support: European Union leaders failed to get all of the bloc’s 27 members to back a change in the EU treaty to tighten their fiscal coordination early this morning. The U.K., Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic were the only four hold outs.
The Washington Examiner, GOP blocks Obama’s second consumer agency pick: Senate Republicans Thursday blocked President Obama’s second choice to lead the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, prompting Obama to accuse the GOP of obstructing the broader Democratic agenda. “My response to them,” Obama said, “is just do the right thing. Focus on the American people, focus on the economy right now.”
The Wall Street Journal, Corzine’s Loss May Be Soros’s Gain: Investor George Soros’s family fund bought about $2 billion of European bonds formerly owned by MF Global Holdings Ltd., the very debt that helped force the securities firm to file for bankruptcy protection Oct. 31.
The New York Times, E.P.A. Links Tainted Water in Wyoming to Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas: The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft report yesterday linking hydraulic fracturing in the Pavillion field in Wyoming to nearby water contamination. The report does note the the Pavillion field is far shallower than in many other drilling areas around the country.
Campaign 2012
Trump: Michele Bachmann became the fifth GOP candidate to officially decline Donald Trump’s invitation to host a debate on Dec. 27 in Des Moines. So far only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have confirmed their attendance.
Romney: Mitt Romney’s campaign sent a talking points attacking Newt Gingrich to congressional allies yesterday. One of the bullet points: “Gingrich creates theories, Mitt creates jobs.” Romney’s Super PAC is also gearing up to air both pro-Romney and anti-Newt spots in Iowa.
Huntsman: The Washington Examiner‘s David Freddoso interviewed Jon Huntsman about his new “Trust” speech.
Gingrich: The Washington Examiner‘s Mark Tapscott reports that, contrary to other accounts, Newt Gingrich’s Wednesday meeting with a group of 63 conservative leaders was “very tense” and “heated.”
And in The Des Moines Register, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says “Republicans would take a giant step backward by choosing Gingrich.”
Righty Playbook
The American Enterprise Institute‘s Peter Wallison says the Senate GOP is right to demand restructuring of new consumer agency.
The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol makes the case for the February entrance of Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio into the GOP primary.
RedState’s Daniel Horowitz calls on Congressional Republicans to defeat next week’s omnibus spending bill.
Lefty Playbook
Liberal Constitutional law professor Eric Segall makes the case that Justice Elana Kagan should recuse herself from the Obamacare Supreme Court case.
Salon‘s Rebecca Traister attacks Obama for using his own daughters to defend Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decision not to allow the morning-after pill to be sold to women under 17 without a prescription.
The Huffington Post‘s Sam Stein reports that some of Rick Perry’s top staffers did not want to run Perry’s newest television ad criticizing the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
